Batman Returns
by madhat2
Summary: Batman fails to stop a kidnapping by a gang of masked men and in the process, is wounded by their mysterious leader. Now he must set out to rescue the hostages, face the new player, and uncover his plans for Gotham.
**Batman Returns**

 _Disclaimer:_

 _In no way do I own Batman Begins or the characters associated with it. The plot of this story, however, and the new characters are mine._

 _TIMELINE: Post Batman Begins and prior to The Dark Knight._

CHAPTER ONE

Gotham city, the center of crime and corruption, the place where fear is ruler and where to fight the darkness you need to become one with it. Five men in black masks were standing outside a dark apartment building, loading machine guns.

"All right," one of them whispered. "let's make this quick and quiet." "How many do we need?" another asked. "Just grab as many as you can in the space of five minutes, and make sure that they're alive and in one piece."

A third mask looked up. "Is the backup ready? "Yeah," the leader answered. "I already checked in with them. Remember," he continued. "At the first sign of trouble, call it in and they'll be here in five minutes." One of the others glowered at him. "I don't see why it's just us," he complained. "I'm sure the boss could have spared a few more guys."

The leader glared at him. "He obviously doesn't want to make a huge production out of this. The backup's ready in case something happens, so stop whining!" He jammed a clip into his gun. "Alright, let's do this," he hissed.

They started towards the apartment door. High above them, on the roof of the apartment, a dark, caped figure was crouched. Reaching into his belt, the figure pulled out a bat shaped knife with a steadily blinking button in the center. Clicking the button, he then flung the knife right in the path of the men below him.

The man in front stopped with a start and stared at the batarang, then dug into his pocket and pulled out a radio. "We've got trouble," he hissed, "It's the Batm-" A forceful blast from the batarang cut him off, flinging them all off of their feet.

Emerging from the shadows, the Batman swung down from the roof and faced the masked men. The apparent leader raised his gun and snarled, "You're dead!" Like lightning, Batman discharged five bataranges, knocking all five men's guns to the ground and out of reach. All five masks charged at the Batman.

Upon reaching him, the first man swung at Batman's head, a blow which Batman swiftly knocked aside, then kicked the man away. Turning to face the others, Batman had just enough time to duck a knife blow, which was aimed at his jaw.

Surging upwards, he lifted the man's knife hand up and kicked him in the stomach, then turned and shot his fist into the face of another mask who had been creeping up behind him. Batman quickly finished off the man he had kicked in the stomach who was now doubled over in front of him, with a powerful punch to the back of the head, then turned to face the last two kidnappers' charge.

Batman blocked a punch aimed at his ribs then kicked the other mask in the knee and returned with a backhand to the first man's jaw, knocking him out. Returning to the man whose knee he had kicked, the Batman slammed him into a wall. "What were you planning to do with the people in that apartment?" he hissed. "How many more of you are there?"

The man gasped for air as Batman pushed him harder against the wall. He gasped, "Y-you'll soon find out. We have m-m-more than enough to finish you off, and those p-people in the apartment? They're doomed." He cackled evilly. Plunging his fist upwards, Batman delivered an uppercut to the man's jaw. The man slumped to the ground.

Crouching down next to the unconscious man, Batman reached for the man's mask. Just as his hand closed around the black fabric, the sound of an incoming vehicle reached his ears. Turning, Batman saw a black van bearing down on him.

In a flash, Batman had whipped out his grappling gun and pulled himself out of sight, back up on the apartment roof. From his perch, he watched as twelve men, guns up and ready, emerged from the van.

Glancing in all directions, eight of the twelve made their way into the apartment, leaving the remaining four to guard the door. Screams erupted from the building, as the men's presence was made known.

Batman glanced down. Taking notice to a window about six feet below his position, Batman jumped from the roof and shot his grappling gun into the wall right next to the window. Using his momentum from the jump, he pulled hard on the cable, propelling himself through the window, shattering the glass and smashing into two very surprised kidnappers.

Rolling away from them, the Batman then stood up and charged. He launched into a kick to one of the men's chest, then using the man's chest as a launching pad, pushed off and landed a midair punch to the second's jaw.

Sensing someone behind him, Batman moved to turn around. "Stay where you are!" a voice hissed from behind him, freezing him mid turn. "or this woman dies."

The Batman turned his head slightly, and took in the situation using his peripheral vision. "I SAID FREEZE!" the man bellowed. The Batman froze, his head still turned. Three masks were standing in a doorway, one of them had his arm wrapped around the throat of a nightgown clad woman with a petrified look on her face.

The man's gun was pressed against her head, while his flankers had their guns trained on the Batman "Get on your knees!" The man spat. "Hands on your head." Batman's eyes prowled around the dimly lit room. Seeing no alternative, he slowly sank to his knees and even more slowly raised his hands to his head. The man holding the woman captive glanced at his companions.

"One of you go get the boss up here," he ordered. "I'll take her down to the van." The man exited the doorframe, dragging the screaming woman with him, followed quickly by one of the two guards. The one remaining guard turned his head slightly to watch them go.

Quickly taking advantage of this, Batman turned on his knee and shot his grappling gun into the man's gun, then yanked the man, holding stubbornly onto his gun, towards him and into his outstretched forearm. The guard bounced off of Batman's forearm and landed on his back on the floor. Bringing his fist up, Batman finished the man off with a crushing blow to the face.

Breathing heavily, Batman stood up. A barrage of gunshots split the silence. Batman felt a stinging sensation in his left shoulder and toppled back down. Behind him stood a huge man wearing a black mask with large red eye holes, holding two semi-automatic pistols, which were smoking.

The man grinned evilly and spoke in a thick accent. "This, my friend, what happens to those who interfere with my business." He took a step closer, towards where Batman was struggling on the floor. He glanced at Batman's blood stained shoulder. "Flesh wound," he grunted. "I never as good with guns than with my bare hands." He grinned at Batman and stuck his guns in his belt. "Now," he said. "Get up, we finish this like men."

Still struggling, Batman stood up, leaning heavily on the wall. The giant smiled and started towards Batman. Bracing his leg against the wall, Batman pushed off with all his might, his fist cocked back. As the two met, Batman, using the momentum from his launch from the wall, threw all his weight into a blow to the man's jaw.

The man lurched to the side, staggered by the punch. Not giving the man time to recover, Batman doubled back with a left cross then kicked him in the chest sending him toppling backwards. The man got up, roaring loudly and threw a knockout right cross aimed at Batman's head. Batman deflected the blow downwards using his right forearm then exploded his hand upwards in a backhand to the man's jaw.

The man grunted, then shot his fist upwards catching Batman in the chin. Stars exploded into Batman's vision as he staggered backwards. Taking a step forwards, the giant then smashed his fist into Batman's face then doubled back with a blow to Batman's injured shoulder sending him careening onto the floor.

Grinning the man said, "Now, we see who is giving to me so much trouble. I remove mask and then you die." Chuckling, he stepped forwards and reached for Batman's mask. Just as his hand brushed against the cowl, Batman's hand came up and closed around his wrist. Breath coming out in rasps, Batman hissed, "I'm… not done… giving you trouble." His right fist shot up and collided with the man's nose.

The man howled with pain and lurched backwards. Batman rolled away from him and stood up. Reaching into his belt, he brought out a blinking batarang and threw it at the floor. The batarang hissed and discharged smoke throughout the whole room. The Batman staggered painfully towards the broken window and hurled himself through it. Using his grappling gun, he pulled himself up on to the roof where he collapsed.

Batman dragged himself to the edge of the roof and looked down. Below him the kidnappers were dragging screaming people into the back of the van. A second later the giant emerged from the door of the apartment and fit his massive frame into the passenger side seat.

The remaining masks began piling into the van. Batman, seeing he was running out of time, gritted his teeth against the pain, and jumped from the building. Pulling out his grappling gun, he lowered himself down until he was about six feet above the van, then cut the cable and fell the remaining distance, landing on top of the van with a smash.

He quickly pulled a small GPS tracker out of his belt and attached it to the van roof, then looked up just in time to see a head poke up over the side of the van. Batman shot out his fist into the face of the man, then whipped out his grappling gun and pulled himself up onto another rooftop, leaving the curses and threats of the kidnapper he had punched, behind him.

Alfred Pennyworth was worried. "He's Batman," he continued to repeat to himself. "If he can't take care of himself than no one can." Never the less, the fact that Bruce had told him that he wouldn't be gone for longer than an hour, continued to play through his mind.

Alfred stopped pacing and started towards the secret entrance to the batcave. The mansion had sense been rebuilt, after Ra's al Ghul's arson had destroyed it, and Bruce had taken the opportunity to make some improvements to the batcave. Stepping out of the elevator, Alfred heard a loud splash, which he knew signified his master's return. Smiling, he walked up to the tumbler and waited for Bruce to emerge.

The smile vanished from Alfred's face, as Bruce stumbled out of the tumbler. Alfred rushed to support him. "Master Wayne! What happened?" He caught sight of Bruce's bleeding shoulder, "You've been shot?!" Bruce chuckled dryly. "You're very observant Alfred."

Alfred helped him up, and Bruce removed his mask revealing his face which was covered with purple bruises. Alfred stared, "Should I even ask, Master Wayne?" Bruce didn't smile, but answered, "I'll spare you the gruesome details, all that you need to know is that a gang of highly trained thugs and their gorilla leader have kidnapped at least half a dozen hostages, and that I didn't have it tonight.

He threw his mask down and started towards the entrance to the mansion. "I managed to tag their escape vehicle with a tracker, I need you to connect to it and find out where there base of operations is located."

Alfred's eyes followed Bruce, "Am I correct in assuming you're not done for the night, sir?" he called after him. "Alfred, those hostages are on a time clock," Bruce answered, still walking, "it's my fault those men even got this far, and whatever happens from this point on, is on me." Alfred shook his head and sat down at Bruce's computer.

Ten minutes later, Alfred had succeeded in pinpointing the tracker's location and Bruce returned from the mansion, having succeeded in cleaning his swollen face a bit. Alfred's eyes found Bruce's shoulder, which was still leaking blood through his suit. "Would you like me to stitch that up?" he asked, gesturing towards his bullet wound.

"No time," Bruce answered, "do you have a location for me?" Alfred glanced at the computer screen, "according to the tracker, they're based at '8658 Mill Road." Alfred's eyes flicked back to the computer screen, the monitor had just gone blank. Suddenly the screen lit up and the image of a man wearing a black mask with large red eye holes appeared.

Bruce stared at the screen, "It's him," he muttered, "the leader." Alfred stared at the screen and said, "It appears to be broadcasting across the whole city." The man's voice boomed from the speakers. "Gotham, this night marks the end of the Batman." The man grinned toothily. "You see, I have acquired seven hostages and make no mistake, if the Batman does not surrender himself to me in next hour they meet a quite terrible end, you have the word of Bane on that."

He held up a the tracker, Batman had placed on the van. "I would give to you directions, Batman, but it looks as though you do not need them." He grinned and the screen went blank. Bruce picked up his mask off the floor and started towards the tumbler. Alfred watched him go, "Master Wayne," he called, "do be careful." Bruce nodded grimly, placed his mask over his head, and descended into the tumbler. With a roar, it shot through the waterfall and disappeared.

A block shy of his destination, Batman brought the tumbler to a stop in a secluded ally. Once on the ground, he pulled out his grappling gun, and pulled himself onto a nearby rooftop where he had a clear view of the building where the tracker's signal had come from. From his position, he could see five masked men spread out on the roof of the building.

Batman took a deep breath and a few steps back, than launched himself off the roof's edge. Midair he quickly sent a charge through his cape and glided onto the building.

As his feet touched the roof, he quickly discharged his cape and used the momentum from his flight, to propel himself into the closest man, knocking him flat, then finished him off with a quick jab to the face. Before the other men could react, Batman was upon them.

Knocking guns aside, Batman shot an uppercut into one man's jaw, then blocked another man's punch with his forearm and followed back with roundhouse kick to the man's face. Facing the others, Batman sidestepped under a haymaker, kicked one in the chest, and released his fist into the back of the last man's head.

Batman turned and noticed one of the men struggling to stay conscious. He walked up to the man and looked down at him menacingly. "Where are the hostages being held?" he growled. The man didn't answer, but made a futile attempt to reach his gun.

Batman kicked the gun away and grabbed the man by his collar. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" he snarled. The man cowered in fright and whimpered, "T-they're spread out throughout the building, I don't know exactly where any of them are." Batman raised his fist threateningly.

"I swear that's all I know!" the man cried. "Bane told us to expect you, he's in there somewhere, waiting for you." Batman growled, "he doesn't have long to wait."


End file.
